Diablo 3 is Fastest-Selling PC Game of All Time

Diablo 3 may have had a rocky launch, but Blizzard looks like it will be weathering that storm with flying colors. Diablo 3 is the fastest selling PC game in history, moving 3.5 million units in just 24 hours.

"We're definitely thrilled that so many people around the world were excited to pick up their copy of Diablo 3 and jump in the moment it went live," said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime. "We also regret that our preparations were not enough to ensure everyone had a seamless experience when they did so. I want to reaffirm our commitment to make sure the millions of Diablo 3 players out there have a great experience with the game moving forward, and I also want to thank them for their ongoing support."

Those numbers don’t count World of Warcraft subscribers with free passes or the massive success in Korean gaming rooms – according to The Verge, 6.3 million people are playing Diablo 3 this week.

It remains to be seen what sort of impact the Diablo 3 launch will have on PC gaming in general – the albatross of online-only DRM might continue to plague the industry, but the game has definitively proved that games can make a gigantic amount of money without being available on iPhones or consoles. PC exclusives might be rare beasts in the world of Call of Duty, but Blizzard has been doing them for a long time. And I don’t think it’s going to stop.

I'm a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New Republic, IGN.com, Wired and more. I cover social games, video games, technology and that whole gray area that happens when technology and consumers collide.